


Seven Times Ryuji Realized He Might Be A Little (Or Very) Gay For Akira

by toomanyunfinishedfics



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (Potentially for the last two prompts since they're post-canon), (Probably would've been good to tag that too lmao oops), (for the fifth prompt), And Ann and Futaba only show up in the sixth prompt, Because I'm bad at writing anyone in P5 so I tried to keep the cast to a minimum, Could my tags get any more rambly I apologize, Demon!Akira AU, Fluff and Angst, How does tagging work uhhh, M/M, Mishima only shows up for like two lines in the fifth prompt, Pegoryu Week 2018, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-01 12:37:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15143240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanyunfinishedfics/pseuds/toomanyunfinishedfics
Summary: Seven separate instances of Ryuji feeling Something for Joker, whether he wants to admit it or not





	1. Day 1: Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Pegoryu Week 2018! It’s my first time writing Pegoryu, and I only found out about Pegoryu week like… two days before it started, so hopefully the drabbles I managed to come up with aren’t too terrible;; Most of them take place mid-game since I still haven’t beaten P5 and haven’t actually seen the end-game yet lol so please excuse any inaccuracies with the last two post-game drabbles;;

“Y’know, thinking back… we had one hell of a first meeting, didn’t we?”

Ryuji casually leaned back on the sofa in Akira’s room, meeting the dark-haired boy’s inquisitive gaze with a smile as he elaborated on his sudden change in topic.

“It’s been like… what, almost half a year now since we met? Prolly even more than that, now that I think about it… crazy how fast the time goes--and how much we’ve been through in all that time.”

“Getting sentimental?” Akira teased lightly, prompting a huff and a faux annoyed expression from Ryuji.

“Not _sentimental_ , I just… I’ve just been thinking about it, that’s all,” Ryuji responded, before tentatively adding, “Y’know, it’s kinda embarrassing to say this, but… I’m real glad that I met you.”

“There’s nothing embarrassing about it.” Akira gave his friend a small smile. “I’m glad that I met you too.”

Slightly flustered by his friend’s honest response, Ryuji’s gaze shifted away from Akira as he continued speaking. “Seriously though, talk about a crazy first meeting--I mean everything was pretty normal at first, but stumbling into Kamoshida’s castle… I mean, was that dumb luck or what? And we’d never’ve become Phantom Thieves if none ‘a that happened… I can’t even imagine how many shitty adults would be running around if we hadn’t stopped ‘em.”

“Everything started thanks to you.”

Ryuji looked back over at Akira in surprise, expecting to find the slightest hint of a teasing smirk or a smile, but instead was met with a sincerity that made his embarrassment grow even as he grinned. “Heh. No need to stroke my ego, man. We both know it was all you.”

Akira shook his head. “You were the one that activated the Meta-Nav, and you were the one that made the decision to go back and stop Kamoshida. I don’t….” He paused, choosing his words carefully before continuing, “... I don’t think I would have gone back on my own. Having you with me was reassuring.”

Ryuji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Dude, I should be the one telling you that--I mean, you were the one with a persona back then, not me. I was ready to help you however I could, but there was no way I’d be able to take on those shadows by myself.” He waved a hand as he saw Akira ready to protest once again. “But fine, let’s agree to disagree on that bit. Still was one hell of a first meeting, though--imagine trying to tell that story to anyone.”

Akira smiled. “What, that I met my best friend on my way to my first day of school, only for us to end up in the cognitive world of a corrupt teacher?”

“Nothing says friendship like running and hiding from some killer shadows together, right?”

“Of course, that’s the best bonding experience two people could have.”

Akira and Ryuji shared an amused glance, before Ryuji rose to his feet and stretched.

“Alright, all this reminiscing’s making me hungry. Wanna go grab a bite to eat?”

Akira rose to his feet as well. “Ramen?”

Ryuji grinned. “Read my mind, man. C’mon, let’s hit up Ogikubo for old time’s sake.”

“Old time’s sake? You mean like last week?” Akira teased as they made their way towards the stairs, amusement continuing to shine in his eyes even as Ryuji lightly shoved him.

“Y’know what--just for that, you’re buying this time.”


	2. Day 2: First Fight

It wasn’t often that Ryuji and Akira had a serious argument--even when they didn’t see one hundred percent eye to eye, Akira was at least agreeable enough to let the matter go, and Ryuji was usually fine with agreeing to disagree over small things.

This time, however, was different.

“Skull, I’m not budging on this. You’re staying behind this time.”

Ryuji took a step forward, his expression a burning flame compared to Akira’s quiet seething.

“And _I’m_ not budging ‘til you explain why the hell I can’t go! It’s not like I’m not pulling my weight!”

“That’s the _problem_ , Skull!” Akira snapped, just barely managing to keep his volume under control--Ryuji was already making enough noise as it was without anyone adding to it.

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean!” Ryuji’s expression was a cross between bewildered and irritated as he continued to glare at Akira. “Why’s it so wrong that I’m pulling my weight! What the hell am I doing wrong, _Leader_?”

“Skull,” Akira began slowly, more for the sake of trying to keep his own frustration in check than anything else. “Just how many times have you gotten hurt or worse in these past three trips alone?”

Ryuji flushed indignantly. “It ain’t my fault that--”

“That what? That you keep throwing yourself in the way of attacks aimed at everyone else?”

Ryuji faltered, some of his ire beginning to die down, yet he still stubbornly pushed on. “So what, helping my teammates is suddenly a crime?”

“When it’s at the expense of your own health, _yes_ , it is,” Akira responded sharply.

“ _What the hell else am I good for, then!_ ”

Ryuji didn’t realize that the question had burst out of his lips until he became aware of Akira’s irritated expression shifting to surprise, before softening in understanding.

“... Is that really what you think?” Akira took a step forward, and Ryuji flinched backwards in return, misinterpreting his expression as disappointment--anger he could handle, but for some reason the thought of disappointing Akira made his gut twist unpleasantly.

Ryuji couldn’t find a suitable response that wouldn’t make the problem any worse than it already was, so all he could do was open his mouth before closing it and dropping his gaze in defeat, for once deciding not to stick his foot any deeper into his mouth than he already had.

“Skull… _Ryuji_.”

The use of his real name in the Metaverse forced Ryuji to look back at Akira, surprised to find that he’d taken his mask off. His surprise quickly shifted to a mixture of confusion and embarrassment as Akira reached out and gently removed Ryuji’s mask from his face as well, taking away his last wall of defense and leaving him with nothing to hide behind.

“... ‘s what I’m good for. I can take a hit ‘n’ bounce back--why’s this such a big deal?” Ryuji weakly tried to keep the argument going, unsure of whether it was his pride refusing to let him back down or his desire to try and assure Akira that he was strong enough to take a few hits without it being an issue. “You guys can just heal me if I get hurt too bad, right? So why--”

“And what about outside the Metaverse?” Akira interrupted, prompting a confused look from Ryuji. “Are you saying you wouldn’t get hurt in any of our places outside the Metaverse, where we can’t heal you?”

“Of course I would--” The response slipped out before Ryuji could really think about it, and he hastily tried to backtrack when he saw the frown on Akira’s face. “... uh… I mean… I wouldn’t?”

Akira sighed. “Ryuji… I understand that you want to look after us, but that doesn’t mean making yourself into a punching bag to protect us.”

“But--”

Ryuji was silenced by a finger pressing against his lips, and despite the situation, he couldn’t help but flush lightly as Akira leaned in closer.

“I would like for you to value yourself as much as I value you, but if that’s too much to ask, then… please try not to let yourself get hurt as much, especially not protecting us. You’re worth so much more to us--to _me_ \--than you think.”

Having said his piece, Akira moved his finger off of Ryuji’s lips and took a step back, giving him a smile that Ryuji tentatively returned.

“... Alright. I’ll be more careful, I promise,” Ryuji responded, and apparently that was (finally) the right response, as Akira nodded in satisfaction and put his mask back on before tossing Ryuji’s mask back to him.

Ryuji put his mask back on and grinned as he jogged to catch up with Akira, who had already started walking off.

“I’m still coming with you, though, and I’m not taking no for an answer!”


	3. Day 3: Birthdays

Ryuji stretched and let out a content sigh before laying down on Akira’s sofa, a silly grin still on his face.

It had been more than a little flattering for him to walk into LeBlanc with Akira, thinking that it was just going to be the two of them hanging out and playing video games (which would have been a perfectly acceptable way to spend his birthday, honestly), only for him to be greeted with all of his friends gathered for a surprise party for him. There was cake, there were gifts, there were laughs and jokes and silly pictures… honestly, Ryuji couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed his birthday as much as he did today.

Still, it was nice to finally get that alone time with Akira that he’d been both expecting and looking forward to--and he didn’t want to waste it by just lazing around on Akira’s sofa, so he sat up and looked over at the boy in question, finding him already rummaging through his collection of games under the television.

“Punch Ouch?” Akira questioned as he looked over at Ryuji, holding up the game in question, and Ryuji grinned as he got off the sofa and grabbed two chairs for them to sit on.

“Sounds good to me, let’s start it up!”

It hardly took ten minutes of playing for Ryuji’s frustration to start showing, and after losing five times in a row he couldn’t help but let out a groan as he leaned back in his chair.

“How the hell are you so good at this?”

Akira laughed quietly. “I only own four games.”

Ryuji couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Alright, fair point.”

“Want to play a different game?”

Ryuji grinned. “Hell no. I’m gonna beat you, just you watch.”

After a few more minutes of button mashing and loud commentary (entirely on Ryuji’s end, not that he was aware of his own volume), he finally landed the winning blow on Akira’s character, and he let out a whoop of joy as the screen proudly announced him to be the winner.

“See? Told’ja I could do it!”

“Congratulations,” Akira responded, the slightest hint of a smirk on his face as he added, “Do you want your prize?”

“Prize?” Ryuji looked over at Akira in confusion. “I get a prize for winning?”

“Yes, you do.”

Without any warning, Akira leaned over and pressed a light kiss to Ryuji’s lips, startling him into complete silence.

“Happy birthday, Ryuji.”

Ryuji blinked, his face flushed and his expression bewildered as his brain tried to catch up with what just happened.

“I, uh… thanks?”

Akira chuckled and leaned forward to change the game, putting in Star Forneus and letting the game start up.

“Ready to play a few more rounds?”

Ryuji blinked slowly, shaking his head slightly as he forced aside any questions in favor of doing something that required less thought: playing video games.

He grinned as he gripped his controller. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go!”

Confused or not, Ryuji knew that he wouldn’t be forgetting this birthday for a long time to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You would think that a birthday drabble would be easy to write but no, of course this would be the one that kicked my ass the hardest;; Sorry for how short this one was :(


	4. Day 4: Partners in Crime

hey **1:31pm**  
akira answer your phone **1:32pm**  
aaaakiiiiiiraaaaa **1:35pm**  
a **1:35pm**  
k **1:35pm**  
i **1:36pm**  
r **1:36pm**  
a **1:36pm**

Akira tried his best to ignore the vibrations of the phone in his pocket, but after more than five consecutive buzzes, he finally gave in and discreetly pulled his phone out of his pocket, rolling his eyes as he saw Ryuji’s messages.

**1:37pm** Yeah?

dude what took you so long **1:37pm**

**1:38pm** I’m in class  
**1:38pm** Is everything okay?

just bombed a pop quiz **1:38pm**  
let’s go get ramen **1:39pm**

Akira raised an eyebrow as he stared down at his phone.

**1:39pm** Ryuji, we still have class

i know you’re gonna say we’ve got class **1:39pm**  
called it lol **1:40pm**  
but come on, there’s just one class left **1:40pm**  
please? **1:41pm**  
c’mon help a bro out **1:42pm**  
i need to drown my sorrows in ramen **1:42pm**

Quickly glancing back up to make sure the teacher wasn’t paying attention to him, Akira fought to keep a straight face as he replied.

**1:42pm** So you want to skip class  
**1:43pm** Because you’re upset about failing a quiz  
**1:43pm** That you would have passed if you paid attention in class  
**1:43pm** Which you can’t do by skipping class, by the way

don’t get smart with me **1:44pm**  
are you in or not?? **1:44pm**

Akira let out a quiet, resigned sigh, unable to help the fond smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.

**1:45pm** I’ll see you in a few minutes

knew i could count on you, man **1:45pm**

 

* * *

 

Ryuji grinned down at his phone as he slipped it back into his pocket.

Leave it to Akira to always come through for him, no matter how crazy and how last minute his requests might be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short drabble, sorry :( I wanted to try writing a texting chapter since that's a big part of the game, and then I remembered that I'm no good at writing texting lol so hopefully this one didn't come out too badly;; Tomorrow's prompt will make up for these super short ones, I promise!


	5. Day 5: Free Day - Demon!Akira AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since day 5 is a free day, I decided to do a snippet (or more like a ficlet, whoops) based off of a demon!Akira AU idea that I was tossing around but ended up scrapping. Enjoy!

All Ryuji wanted was a normal college life: making new friends, making some bad decisions that he’d laugh off later, going to parties, maybe getting with a cute girl or two….

Unfortunately, he forgot about the part where he had to actually… you know, do _schoolwork_.

Ryuji groaned, reaching out and grabbing his fifth can of soda and taking a drink from it before blearily staring down at the musty old book opened in front of him.

“” _Join the History of Occultism class with me_ ,” he said. “ _It’ll be fun_ ,” he said. Ugh, this is the last time I ever listen to Mishima… what part of studying creepy old books in dead languages is _fun_? Maybe I should just drop this damn class and be done with it….”

He turned the page, cursing and shaking out his hand in irritation as the paper cut his finger.

“God damn it, this class is tryin’a kill me, I swear.”

Grumbling to himself, he squinted as he tried to make out the words in the book, typing them out into Google Translate on his phone.

“ _Sal… ve… te… sac… cul… ar… ius… te.. in… vo… co…._ The hell? “Hello, I call cheat”? That doesn’t make any fuckin' sense… damn Google Translate. Lemme see if Bing’s any better….” He reached out to take another sip from his soda before setting the drink back down and grimacing in annoyance. “Ugh, this is _really_ not how I wanted to spend my Sunday--I thought college was supposed to be _fun_ , not the same shit as high school all over again.”

Ryuji idly rested his hand on the book and toyed with the pages as he tried pulling up a new translator on his phone, completely unaware of his injured finger tapping against the page until a light began to catch his eye.

“What the--!!”

Ryuji frantically pushed his chair away from the desk, falling backwards in his haste and landing on the ground with a yelp. He watched with wide eyes as the now-glowing book (Ryuji was pretty damn sure books weren’t supposed to glow) started to _float off of the desk_ (books _definitely_ weren’t supposed to do that either) and hover in mid-air, an eerie wind blowing through the room.

“Oh fuck, oh shit, god _damn_ it Mishima this is all your fault--!!”

Ryuji raised an arm to shield his face as the wind and light grew even stronger--and then suddenly, everything stopped, the book falling back down onto the table as if it never even moved.

Cautiously lowering his arm, Ryuji glanced around the room warily, trying to see if anything was out of place: his papers had been scattered around a bit by the wind, his phone was slightly cracked where he dropped it when he fell, there was a man standing in front of him, his soda got knocked over which was going to be a pain to cl--

_Wait hold up **who the hell is in my room!!**_

Ryuji hastily scrambled to his feet and edged towards the pipe that he kept in the corner of his room for crazy situations like this, his eyes not moving off of the oddly-dressed masked man.

“Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing in my room?”

The man smirked and took a step forward, and in response Ryuji took a step back and grabbed for the pipe, glancing back with a bewildered expression when his hand met air.

“Looking for this?”

Ryuji turned back around to see his pipe in the masked man’s hand, and he glanced back and forth between the spot where his pipe should have been and the pipe that the masked man was examining with an amused expression.

“Wh-- how did you-- when did you--”

“You should know. You summoned me here, after all.”

“Summoned…? I didn’t--” Ryuji’s gaze shot over to the book, a nervous laugh slipping out as his gaze slowly moved back over to the masked man. “... You’ve gotta be shitting me… there’s no way….”

“Oh, but there is. I heard your incantation loud and clear, and received your blood offering to complete the summoning.”

“ _Blood offering_? I didn’t--” Ryuji yelped as the masked man cleared the distance between them in the blink of an eye, his gloved hand grabbing Ryuji’s hand and lifting it for both of them to see.

“You did.”

Ryuji paled as he saw the small cut on his finger--there was barely any blood now, but there was a small line of red that showed that blood had been there.

“... You mean to tell me that I summoned a… a _demon_ , or whatever you are? I was just trying to do my homework!”

The masked man--masked _demon_ \--let go of Ryuji’s hand, taking a step back and bowing with a flourish. “I have gone by many names in the past: Joker, Trickster, Phantom… but you may call me whatever you would like.”

“I ain’t gonna call you anything! Just get out of here!”

The masked demon looked back up at him, his expression both intrigued and amused. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You summoned me with a wish in mind, and until I fulfill the wish that sealed our contract, I’m to remain by your side.”

“... You can’t be serious.”

“While my names may imply otherwise, I would never lie regarding a contract.”

Ryuji took a few steps back, stumbling backwards to sit onto his bed. “This’s crazy….” He laughed humorlessly as he put his head in his hands. “Why the hell is this happening to me? I wasn’t tryin’ to summon _anything_ , I was just tryin’ to do my homework for fuck’s sake.”

He sighed and lifted his head, yelping and recoiling backwards as he found the masked demon hardly a few inches away from his face. “What the _fuck_ , man! Don’t _do_ that!”

“My apologies, I was just intrigued. I’ve never been summoned by someone unintentionally before.”

Ryuji flushed in indignation. “Go ahead, laugh at the idiot that fucked up something as simple as doing homework this badly.”

To Ryuji’s surprise, the demon removed his mask to look at him, and he almost forgot that he didn’t want this demon in his personal space when he leaned forward again, his face (which was unfairly good-looking--weren’t demons supposed to be ugly as fuck?) hardly a few inches away from Ryuji’s once more as the demon’s gloved hand lightly brushed along Ryuji’s cheek.

Ryuji could feel himself growing flustered, and he forced himself to snap out of whatever demonic trance he was being put in as he shoved the demon away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

The demon straightened up with a smirk and put his mask back on. “I think I have a solution that will benefit us both.”

Ryuji sat up straight and eyed him warily. “What kind’a solution…?”

“You’ll see soon enough. But for now….”

The demon snapped his fingers, and suddenly Ryuji’s eyelids felt heavier than normal.

“... You… what the hell did you….”

“Just sleep, Ryuji. Sleep, and look forward to tomorrow.”

With a feeling of dread, Ryuji felt himself slipping off to sleep against his will, with one last coherent thought passing through his mind.

_How the hell does he know my name…?_

* * *

A shrill, persistent beeping dragged Ryuji out of his deep sleep, and he groaned as he forced himself up out of bed to shut off his alarm. It was only after he gave himself a few more seconds to wake up that the memories of the previous night began to flood back, and he cursed himself for falling asleep as he glanced around warily for any sight of the demon or anything that the demon might have done.

To his bewilderment, however, he couldn’t find any signs of the mess from last night at all: his chair was back in its original position, all of his papers were neatly placed on his desk, there was no soda on his desk or floor nor an overturned can… hell, even the crack on his phone was gone!

“The hell…? Was that all just a weird dream or something...?”

Ryuji scratched his head in confusion before letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, guess that’s what I get for staying up so late tryin’a read all those weird books. I don’t care how much Mishima bugs me for it, I think I’m just gonna drop the class after today and be done with it.”

He glanced at the time. “Shit, and speaking of class….”

Ryuji hurried to get washed and dressed, grabbing his books and papers off of the table and shoving them all haphazardly into his bag before running out of the room.

* * *

“Alright class, turn in your assignments.”

Ryuji groaned. “Fuck….”

“Forgot to do it?” Mishima questioned quietly from the seat next to him.

“More like literally fell asleep while trying to do it. I don’t get how any of this shit is interesting to you,” Ryuji grumbled in response, digging through his bag for his half-finished assignment. “I only managed to get a few--”

He paused mid-sentence as he stared at the completed paper in shock. “... But I didn’t… how…?”

“That looks pretty finished to me. What, did you do it in your sleep or something?”

Mishima took the paper from Ryuji before he could stop him and passed both Ryuji’s and his papers up to the front of the room.

_Well, whatever. I’m gonna drop the class anyway, so even if I did finish it in my sleep or something it doesn’t really matter what kind’a grade I get on it._

Ryuji shrugged and leaned back in his seat, hardly even paying attention as someone opened the door and entered the classroom.

“Sorry I’m late, professor. I just finished getting my schedule….”

“Oh, it’s not a problem at all, Mr…?”

“Akira Kurusu, sir.”

Mishima lightly nudged Ryuji. “Hey, looks like we got a new transfer student or something.”

“Who the hell’d transfer at this time of--” Ryuji began, before properly taking a look at the person standing at the front of the room--and as soon as recognition kicked in, he let out a shout that startled Mishima into recoiling backwards.

“ _YOU!!_ ” Ryuji sharply stood up, his palms flat on his desk as he glared at Akira. “What the hell are you doing here, you d--! De--!! _Dem_ \--!!!”

Ryuji’s eyes widened as Akira smirked slightly, his eyes briefly flashing red behind his glasses, before the demon’s expression returned to a faux polite smile. “It’s good to see you again too, Ryuji.”

“Mr. Sakamoto, please sit down. Now then, Mr. Kurusu, since you and Mr. Sakamoto seem to already be acquainted with one another, you can take the empty seat to the right of him.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Ryuji reluctantly sat down, continuing to glare at Akira as he made his way over to him.

_So that wasn’t a dream… shit, is this guy gonna be following me around everywhere, now? And what, is he stopping me from letting people know that he’s a demon? Fuck, this isn’t good…._

Akira went to sit down at his seat, and Ryuji had to stop himself from reaching out to pull the chair away so the charismatic (and mind-manipulating, apparently) demon would fall flat on his ass.

“Now then, on to today’s lesson….”

When the professor turned his back to the class, Ryuji glanced over at Akira and hissed, “What the _hell_ are you doing here? I already told you I’m not interested in whatever “contract” or “solution” or _whatever_ you have going on in that head of yours.”

“And I already told you that I can’t leave until I fulfill our contract,” Akira responded quietly. “If you didn’t want me around as a demon, then I figured my only choice would be to blend in as a human.”

Ryuji scowled. “Great. Whatever. Just stay the hell away from me because I’m _not interested_.”

“Oh? You seemed pretty _interested_ last night,” Akira teased with a smirk, prompting a light blush from Ryuji.

“I w--” Ryuji bit his tongue to stop himself from yelling, glancing at the professor to make sure he hadn’t heard him before glaring at Akira and hissing, “I was _not_ “interested” in _anything_ last night except getting you to _go away_ so I could finish my damn work and go to bed!”

“Oh, and speaking of your work….”

“Don’t try and change the subject, you--wait….” Ryuji blinked as he thought back to his completed homework assignment. “... Did _you_ …?”

Akira shrugged. “It wasn’t a part of our contract, but I supposed I could do that much for you considering how I was the reason you weren’t able to finish it to begin with.”

Ryuji faltered, frowning before letting out a quiet huff. “... Thanks, I guess.”

Akira smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Silence descended between the two of them, and just as Ryuji was beginning to nod off from listening to the professor, Akira’s voice caught his attention once more, the demon's gaze on the phone in his hand (Ryuji wasn't even going to bother questioning why a demon was using a cell phone or where the hell he got it).

“Oh, it seems that they finished putting my room assignment though.”

“Yeah?” Ryuji responded distractedly.

“Yes. We’ll be rooming together for the rest of the year.”

“Rooming together, huh…,” he responded distractedly once more. It took a few seconds for the statement to sink in, but once it did, he stood straight up once more as he exclaimed, “We’re _WHAT?!_ ”

The professor whirled around to glare at Ryuji, his chalk snapping in his grip.

“Mr. Sakamoto, for the last time, _be quiet in my classroom!_ ”

Ryuji plopped back down into his seat with a groan, not even needing to look at Akira to know that the demon had a smirk on his (no-good smug asshole) face.

“Looking forward to spending the rest of the year with you, _roommate_.”

“Fuck you.”


	6. Day 6: Longing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse my lack of an Ann muse and a Futaba muse;; I tried

One month.

It had been exactly one month since Akira’s probation ended. One month since he said his goodbyes and returned home with the promise of keeping in touch and coming back to visit.

One month of having an Akira-shaped gap in his life that nothing was quite able to fill just as well as Akira himself.

“Ryuji, I miss him too, but this is ridiculous.”

“Hnn?” Ryuji lazily lifted his head from the table as Ann entered LeBlanc, greeting Sojiro with a polite smile before sliding into the booth across from Ryuji with an annoyed frown.

“You’ve been moping around ever since Akira went home!”

Ryuji huffed. “ ‘m not _moping_ , I just… I’m just bored. That’s all.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “You know, if you would’ve just told him how you felt before he left--”

She wasn’t even able to get the rest of her sentence out as Ryuji blushed heavily and sharply sat up, slamming his hands on the table.

“ _It ain’t like that!_ I’m not-- I don’t--”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think you had anyone fooled?” She counted on her fingers as she began listing evidence. “You constantly followed Akira around like an eager puppy, you were always the first to jump to his defense, your entire mood would change depending on whether Akira agreed with you on anything or not, you gave him _Valentine’s Day chocolate_ \--”

“That was just some free chocolate that I got from the store and didn’t want! And none of that other stuff is true either!! How the hell do you know about the chocolate anyw--”

“ _Ryuji… I love you._ ”

Ryuji immediately shot up out of his seat at the sound of Akira’s voice, his face bright red as he looked around, before slumping back into his seat in embarrassment as he heard Futaba snickering from behind her laptop in the booth behind him.

“See? You totally have it bad for him,” she quipped with a grin.

“Futaba, don’t go teasing people with fake voice recordings,” Sojiro chided distractedly as he washed dishes in the back.

“Fiiiine.”

Ryuji groaned and leaned forward, letting his flushed face rest against the cool table. “... Okay, fine. Are you two happy? Maybe… maybe I do… _feel_ something for him… or something, I dunno.”

Ann grinned and shot Futaba a thumbs up while Ryuji wasn’t looking, and Futaba responded with a grin of her own as she returned her attention to her laptop.

“We’re not the ones that you need to be telling, though. Have you contacted Akira at all since he left?”

Ryuji sat up slightly with a sigh. “... Some texts, yeah, but like… I always felt like we could chat about anything without even having to think, but now I feel like I’m just trying to come up with excuses to keep messaging him, and then I start wondering if I’m bothering him with all my texting, and… I dunno.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “This is what happens when you start trying to use your brain, Ryuji. It just doesn’t work out.”

“The hell’s that supposed to--”

Ryuji fell quiet as Ann leaned forward and tapped his chest with a smile. “You don’t use your head for this kind of stuff, stupid. You use your heart.”

Ryuji blushed lightly, though he couldn’t help but laugh. “Leave it to you to say something so sappy.” Before Ann could respond, he gave her a grin and added, “But I guess you’re right. Overthinking things ain’t like me. I dunno about going with my heart, but going with my gut’s close enough, right?”

“Considering how the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I’d say it’s close enough,” Futaba piped up without pulling her gaze away from the screen in front of her.

Ann shook her head in amusement as she leaned back in her seat. “Well, as long as you more or less get it…. Now the next step is actually telling him how you feel. Think you’re ready for that?”

Ryuji’s grin widened. “Yeah, no more moping around--if I miss him, I’ve just gotta tell him. Right?”

“That’s not--” Ann cut herself off and sighed. “Oh forget it, you’re still hopeless… but I guess that’s a start.”

“I guess I’ll send him a text tonight, then.”

“No need~”

Ann and Ryuji both looked over at Futaba, who grinned at them and tilted her laptop screen so they could see.

“I’ve been messaging him this whole time, and he’s going to come back for a visit this weekend.”

Ryuji’s eyes widened, and Ann’s face broke out in an excited grin.

“For real?!” “Really?!”

Futaba snickered. “Yeah, all I had to do was tell him how miserable Ryuji’s been without him and he agreed to come right away~”

“You told him _what?!_ ”

Ryuji’s face immediately flooded with heat as he vaulted over the seat to get a better look at Futaba’s laptop, but Futaba quickly closed the laptop and hugged it to her chest as she slipped away under the table, laughing the whole way.

(Sojiro chiding her later was worth it: Ann and Futaba’s “Make Ryuji Stop Moping Like A Lovesick Puppy” plan was a huge success.)


	7. Day 7: Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a direct sequel to the previous drabble (Longing), so if you haven't read that one yet then you should read that first!

Ryuji paced back and forth on the train platform, his gaze flickering between the train schedule and the phone in his hand as he impatiently waited for Akira’s train to arrive.

Akira had reached out to him hardly a few hours after Futaba passed on the news of him coming back for a visit, and while part of him was embarrassed (he didn’t want Akira thinking he couldn’t handle himself without him around), he was mainly relieved that Futaba had been telling the truth, as well as excited to see his best friend again.

_“Best friend,” huh…._

Ryuji let out an aggravated breath, his face flushing lightly as he ran a hand through his hair. Ann’s prodding had left him thinking about things that he’d been trying desperately to avoid thinking about, especially after Akira left Tokyo--namely, what exactly his feelings for Akira were.

Friends? Of course. Best friends? Definitely. But more than that was just….

_There’s no way a guy like him would even be interested in me. I mean, does he even like guys? Do **I** even like guys?_

Ryuji groaned, running a hand over his face, before jerking in surprise as he heard the announcement for Akira’s train moments before it pulled into the station.

He bounced on the balls of his feet, eyes scanning the crowd of people getting off of the train for Akira’s familiar face, before grinning excitedly as he caught sight of him.

There was no way that anyone could miss Ryuji jumping up and down and waving his arms, so Akira was able to find his way over to him with ease, his amused smile softening as Ryuji immediately threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

“Man, it feels like it’s been forever! How was the trip in? You wanna stop off ‘n’ get something to eat?”

Akira nodded. “Let’s go to the diner.”

“Diner it is! C’mon, let’s go!”

* * *

By the time the two boys entered the diner, they were already talking and laughing like a month hadn’t even gone by, to the point where Ryuji completely forgot what he was even worried about to begin with.

It was only when there was a lull in the conversation, after the waitress had brought them their food and the two were busy inhaling their meals, that Ryuji’s thoughts began to travel back to the (supposed) original reason why Akira agreed to come back and visit. Without realizing, the words he’d been hesitant to admit began tumbling out of his mouth.

“So, I, uh… honestly, I really missed you. It’s not the same without you around, y’know?”

Akira looked up from his food in surprise at the honest confession, before smiling softly in understanding.

“I missed you too.”

“Really? I mean-- well, of course you did,” Ryuji quickly amended with a nervous laugh. “But you missed everyone else too, right?”

“Of course, but it’s different.”

“Me too!” Ryuji blurted out, before backpedaling with a flushed face. “I-I mean, like… I’ve had friends move away before, and I’ve missed them, but with you it’s like… I dunno, it’s _different_ , like… uh… like--”

Ryuji was saved from floundering for the right words to say by a finger pressing against his lips, but at the same time _Akira was putting his finger against Ryuji’s lips_ and how exactly was Ryuji supposed to react to that??

“I understand,” Akira replied with a smile still on his face, and for a moment Ryuji was completely lost before remembering what they’d just been talking about. “It’s _different_ for me too.”

Ryuji opened his mouth to respond once Akira moved his finger, but all he could manage was, “I, uh… that’s good then. I mean it’s not _good_ , that it’s different without us being together or whatever I mean, but… yeah.”

Akira chuckled quietly as he watched Ryuji stumble over his words, reaching out and stealing one of his fries while he was distracted.

As Akira had hoped, Ryuji’s brain immediately honed in on his missing fry, successfully distracting him from his attempt to string together a coherent sentence.

“Hey! C’mon man, you’ve got your own food, don’t go stealing mine!”

“If you want it back, then take it,” Akira challenged with a smirk, holding the fry in his fingers.

Without thinking, Ryuji leaned forward and bit the fry before leaning back with a victorious grin. “Hah!”

It was only when Ryuji noticed Akira’s surprised expression that he belatedly realized what he did, and his face quickly began to heat up once more in embarrassment.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to-- I wasn’t-- that-- you stole my food!”

Ryuji was briefly worried as he noticed Akira’s shoulders shaking, but as soon as the quiet sound of Akira’s laughter reached his ears, Ryuji couldn’t help his own laughter from bubbling up as he relaxed back in his seat, the last of his worries fading away.

What they had right now was fine. There was no need to rush, or overthink things, or try to put a label on their feelings.

As long as Ryuji knew that he was as important to Akira as Akira was to him, that was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad I pushed myself to participate in Pegoryu Week, and that I pushed past my nervousness and actually posted my drabbles instead of just burying them on my computer;; Thank you to everyone who left a comment, left kudos, or even just popped in to take a look! I really appreciate it, and hopefully I'll feel a bit more comfortable sharing my fics online in the future thanks to this!


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